Challenge Recap
Quesabirria Recap: The Broth Wins
By Jack Waller · Jul 8, 2026 · 4 min read
It went viral on the cheese pull. Three cooks took on the braise this week, and the cheese pull was nobody’s favourite part. Here is the honest verdict, plus the trick that shrinks the whole cook.
Quesabirria went viral on a single image: a cheese-stuffed taco pulling apart as it lifts out of a bowl of red broth. Great photo, long cook. Three cooks took it on this week, all three called it a process, and all three came back with a plate they would make again. Here is the honest verdict, and then the trick that turns the whole thing from a weekend project into a weeknight one.
The viral bit is not the best bit
The internet sells this on the cheese pull. It was nobody’s favourite part. One cook crowned the consommé, called it fruity and deep and not too salty, and ended up drinking it straight from the bowl. Another, cooking quesabirria for the first time, was won over by the crisp, and the clever move of frying the tortillas in the red fat skimmed off the braise. The third kept the verdict simple: a bit of a process, but the end result was a winner. Three cooks, three different favourite parts, and the cheese pull was none of them. The photogenic half is real, but the bits that made everyone want to cook it again were the broth and the fry, the two things that never trend.
“Using the seasoned oil to fry up the tortillas was clever. Each bite was crispy, juicy and flavourful.”
The weeknight route: do it in a pressure cooker
If the braise time is what is putting you off, the recipe already gives you the short version: an hour on high pressure with a natural release, instead of three hours on the stove. One of our cooks took that route and filled in everything the one-liner leaves out. Here is their method, turned into steps.
- Parboil the beef for a few minutes and rinse it first if you want the clearest possible consommé, since you cannot skim as it cooks under pressure
- Build the adobo as written, then stir in a spoon of beef bone broth concentrate to rebuild the depth a long open braise would have layered in on its own
- Pressure cook about an hour on high with a natural release, until the beef shreds with zero resistance, the same finish line as the slow braise, just quicker to reach
- Chill the whole pot overnight, so the flavour settles and the fat sets into a hard cap you can lift off cold in one piece, which is exactly the fat you fry the tacos in
- Reheat, assemble, and griddle on medium so the tortilla crisps and stains red while the cheese melts
That is a first-timer turning our one-line shortcut into a proper method, and honestly it is the most useful thing to come out of the week.
Cook once, eat twice
One thing the recipe undersells: the braise makes more meat than the tacos need, and that is a feature, not a mistake. One cook froze the leftover birria beef and has it earmarked for nachos this weekend, which is exactly the right instinct. If an afternoon is going into a braise anyway, it might as well feed two weekends. We should have said that on the recipe itself, so consider this the correction.
What you keep
Three techniques, all of them bigger than tacos. A smooth dried chilli adobo is the backbone of most Mexican braises. Cooking tough beef low and slow until it gives with no resistance is the same patience behind every good ragu. And a skimmed, reduced, properly seasoned broth pays off in the next soup you make too. Three plates came back this week, all three cooks would do it again, and one of them handed everyone else a shortcut on the way out. Worth the braise. Even more worth it in a pressure cooker.
The recipe
Quesabirria Tacos with Consomme
3 hr 30 min · Serves 6 · 6 steps
Ingredients
Method
- 01
Build the pot
Everything goes into one pot and up to a simmer.
Pull the stems off the guajillo, ancho and arbol chillies and shake out most of the seeds.
Into a large pot pile the 1.3 kg beef chuck and the 600 g short rib, the chillies, half the onion (keep the other half to dice for serving), garlic, carrot, 4 bay leaves, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tsp peppercorns, 2 tbsp chicken powder and 1 tsp salt.
Pour in the 1.25 L water, enough to just cover everything. Bring to a boil, then drop to a steady simmer and leave it for 30 minutes.
- 02
Skim and blend the adobo
Lift out the softened chillies and veg, blend a smooth adobo, and stir it back in.
After about 30 minutes the chillies and vegetables will be soft. Skim the foam and scum off the top of the pot first.
Scoop the chillies, onion and carrot into a blender. Squeeze the soft garlic out of its skins in after them and discard the skins. Leave the bay leaves in the pot, they are not for blending. Add 2 tbsp vinegar and a ladle or two of the hot broth, and blend on high for a full 1 to 2 minutes until completely smooth. Longer than feels necessary.
If the blend still feels gritty or you can see bits of chilli skin, pour it through a fine sieve back into the pot, pushing it through with the back of a spoon and discarding what stays behind. A high-powered blender gets it smooth enough to skip this, so just tip it straight back in. Either way, stir it through. This smooth red adobo is what keeps the consomme glossy, not gritty.
No dried chillies? Leave them out at the start and blend in 2 tbsp chipotle in adobo, 1 tbsp smoked paprika and 1 tbsp sweet paprika instead.
- 03
Braise low and slow
Let it simmer gently until the beef shreds on its own.
Cover the pot and simmer gently on low for about 3 hours, giving it a stir every 40 minutes or so, until the beef shreds with no resistance. Top up with a splash of water if the level ever drops below the meat.
Short on time? Pressure cooker: 1 hour on high, then natural release. Slow cooker: low for 8 hours.
- 04
Shred and skim the red fat
Pull the beef, then skim the precious red oil off the top of the consomme.
Lift the beef out into a bowl. Shred it with two forks, discarding the bones and any big lumps of fat. Spoon over a few ladles of the broth so it stays glossy and juicy.
Let the pot settle for a minute, then skim the orange-red fat from the surface into a small bowl. You want about 125 ml of it. This is your taco-dipping oil.
Fish out the bay leaves. Taste the consomme and season with salt and a squeeze of lime until it tastes deep and savoury. If it seems thin, simmer it uncovered for 10 minutes to concentrate.
- 05
Griddle the quesabirria tacos
Dip, fill, and crisp. This is the part everyone films.
Heat the pan over medium. You have a lot of tortillas and cheese to work through, so set up a little station. Dip a tortilla into the bowl of red fat to coat one side, then lay it in the pan.
Scatter the grated cheese over half, then a spoon of shredded beef, a little diced onion and coriander. When the cheese has melted and the underside is crisp and stained red, fold the tortilla over and press down.
Crisp both sides until lacy and deep red, about 2 to 3 minutes total. Work 2 or 3 at a time and keep them warm while you go.
- 06
Serve with consomme for dipping
Plate the tacos with a bowl of hot consomme and dunk.
Ladle the hot consomme into small bowls, one per person, and top each with a little diced onion and coriander.
Pile the tacos alongside with the 3 limes, cut into wedges. Dip each taco into the consomme and eat straight away, while the shell is still crisp.
Leftover braised beef and consomme keep 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen. Griddle the tacos fresh each time.